1/10/2013

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) and Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) headline the list of those competing at the Austin Grand Prix on January 18-20. The event, which will take place at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, is the second event of the six-meet 2012-13 Arena Grand Prix Series.

Preliminaries in Austin will start at 9 a.m. CT Friday through Sunday, with finals beginning at 6 p.m. CT. Tickets may be purchased at the door or through the Longhorn Athletics Store online. In addition to USA Swimming’s live webcast of the event, the Universal Sports Network will broadcast the event live on January 19 and 20 from 7-8:30 p.m. ET. Check local listings for channels and times in your area.

The meet is the second stop of the 2012-2013 Arena Grand Prix Series. The Series will conclude June 2, 2013 in Santa Clara, Calif. As part of USA Swimming’s new, eight-year partnership with Arena, the Arena Grand Prix Series will offer swimmers the opportunity to take home prize money for top finishes in all individual Olympic-distance events for each meet in the Series. In each event, first-place finishers will receive $500, second-place finishers will earn $300 and swimmers in third place will take home $100*. Prize money will be distributed for each meet in the Series.

The Arena Grand Prix Series serves as an opportunity for swimmers to race against some of the best competition in the country as they continue their preparation for the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., World University Games in Kazan, Russia and the FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Media interested in covering the event must apply for a credential online.

* Swimmers with remaining NCAA eligibility will not be able to accept event prize money.